We have several participation and volunteering opportunities, in general, our activities are informal and relaxed, but we remain focused on what we and our communities wish to change. Beyond the specific skills associated with the social activities, all our activities will provide opportunities for participants to develop their confidence, build new friendships, connections and interests they enjoy. All our activities will involve opportunities for participants to engage in planning, organisational and goal setting.  

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We base our activities on self-management approaches. These form the basis for our ability to manage and improve our own circumstances and well-being and work with others to determine the steps we need to take. Our shared sessions will require people to work as a team, communicate, identify, prioritise and solve challenges. We will also provide opportunities for participants to practice their presentation skills. All while having a sense of enjoyment and fun. 

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Better Views Social Gardening

​We run 2 sessions weekly in Alexandria on Mondays and Fridays at The Blue Triangle project, in Alexander St as well as one at Creveul Crt, (Bank Street) on the last Thursday of the month. All sessions run between 10am and 12.30pm. The sessions are run by volunteers for volunteers with the main objective of improving health and wellbeing through physical exercise and social interaction.  The main benefit of the sessions from a work perspective is the informal way the sessions are run and that the only pressure put on you to attend is by you thus helping to build work into your weekly routine at a pace you are comfortable with. 

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Better Views Social Cooking

​We run 2 sessions weekly, the first in Bonhill Community centre every Wednesday between 1pm and 3pm and Alexandria Armed Veterans Hall between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.  These are not formal cooking classes but are designed to show how to save money by reducing food waste through better mal planning, storage and use of ‘use by’ dates, smart leftover recipes. As much as we can, we use recipes based on locally grown vegetables. The main benefit of the sessions from a work perspective is the informal way the sessions are run and that the only pressure put on you to attend is by you thus helping to build work into your weekly routine at a pace you are comfortable with. 

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Better Views Blether Groups​

We run 2 groups per week. Dalmuir, each Monday from 11am to 1pm in Barclay Church, Dalmuir and Bonhill Community Centre each Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm. The Blether Group invites people to discuss issues impacting their well-being and share suggestions for self-help, support and companionship. 

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Learn and Grow Build Volunteer​

We have opportunities for volunteers go into schools across West Dunbartonshire and build a gardening area consisting of small raised beds normally around 7’ by 4’ surrounded by a border and stone chips.  This can be physically demanding but very rewarding when finished.  These sessions rely heavily on teamwork and communication.

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Learn and Grow Teacher Volunteer

We require volunteers go into the schools where we have built gardens and to help teachers to deliver sow and grow sessions to pupils across all ages.  This would be suitable for anyone who wants to develop their communication skills or have a taste of working with children of all ages.  We will provide training and support to any volunteer who are interested in helping to deliver this training to the schools.

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Although these sessions are run by volunteers for volunteers there is a (work) feel about them, over and above the benefits to health and wellbeing you can learn woodworking skills, time management and communication skills as part of the team.  Because this session is more work based we have provided a reference to potential employers based on the work ethic of the volunteer, this has proved beneficial to jobseekers in the past. 

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Growing West Dunbartonshire Activities​

Growing West Dunbartonshire is a collection of community garden and allotment groups based in the heart of our communities in Clydebank, Dumbarton and Alexandria. The groups are always looking for new participants and volunteers at their community venues. The groups meet once a month to hear from experts on a topic related to our environment and activities in WD.

Growing West Dunbartonshire provides opportunities for our participants to meet new people, increase their awareness of activities across WD and to take up lead and support roles to the organisation of community events and activities throughout the year. 

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Project Admin Support​

We require ongoing support for the following general project administration; management of our receipts and invoices, update to our petty cash files. Update and provision of forms to our user led community groups, response to emails etc, scanning and saving documents, managing folder structures. Volunteers will require strong Microsoft word and excel experience and will require good organisation skills.

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Social Media Support​

We require support for a few hours a week, implementing our social media plan, posting updates across Facebook, Instagram etc. If you are comfortable connecting with other groups and users, promoting our activities, then we would like to hear from you. 

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Website/Promotional Material Support​

We require support with regular updates to our website using photographs, documents, page text. An interest in website build and/or graphic design would be useful.